Delivery station for a converting press

ABSTRACT

Delivery station for a converting press for paper or carboard sheets with a transverse roller located downstream from the delivery area and a movable carriage downstream from the aforesaid roller ( 18 ), being able to receive a plurality of bars so as to form a non-stop blanking delivery rack, the aforesaid carriage being guided by a carrying device ( 4, 5 ) in longitudinal direction; the carrying device and the transverse roller are assembled in a vertically movable frame ( 1 ) suspended on both sides by chains ( 24 ) run by only one motor ( 19 ) through a transmission shaft ( 22 ); the vertical run of the delivery rack is adjustable between a high position and a low position, the low position being determined by the length of the lower blanking tool joggers.

[0001] The present invention relates to a delivery station for aconverting press for paper or cardboard sheets including a transverseroller located downstream from the delivery area and a movable carriagedownstream from the aforesaid roller, which is able to receive aplurality of bars so as to form a non-stop blanking delivery rack, theaforesaid carriage being guided by a carrying device into longitudinaldirection.

[0002] The words “upstream”, “downstream”, “longitudinal” and“transverse” are used here with reference to the running direction ofthe sheets in the press.

[0003] In a kind of delivery stations as the one previously defined, theblanking consists, after converting and complete waste stripping, tobreak the nicks between the sheet blanks by means of an upper male tooland a lower female tool vertically assembled one above the other in thesheets delivery area. The upper tool is made of pushing devices slightlysmaller than the circumference of the blanks. The lower tool is made oflongitudinal and transverse bars forming a rack corresponding to thecircumference of the blanks. The blanks fall through the spaces of thisrack and pile up vertically in the delivery area.

[0004] To form piles of separate and fixed blanks under these tools, onthe delivery vane of the delivery station, a periodic insertion of astabilization sheet is needed. So that this insertion ca be carried outwithout requiring a simultaneous stop of the production unit, one uses adevice so called non-stop delivery rack. This device includes a movablecarriage in the longitudinal direction of the press. The carriagecomprises two transverse beams on which bars can be laid out in alongitudinal way so as to form a non-stop blanks delivery rack. The barsare generally shaped like a rod. The head of the rod can fit into a nickof the carriage beam the most far away from the delivery station and canbe secured to it by screwing. The stick of the rod lays, in a ratherclose area of the head of the rod, on the second transverse beam of thecarriage, and, in a close area of the other end of the rod, on atransverse roller located just next to and downstream from the blanksdelivery station. To carry on an insertion operation, the movablecarriage is moving so as to bring the bars under the lower blanking tooland a pair of bars comes to support each blank failing down. For largesize blanks, the number of bars per blank can be more important. Thenon-stop delivery rack receives from time to time the blanks piling upduring the insertion operations. After each insertion operation, thebars forming the rack leave the delivery area, by a longitudinal movingof the movable carriage, crossing with vertical joggers of the lowerblanking tool, so as to lay the blanks onto the insertion sheet.

[0005] A preselector determines the number of cuttings for each insertedpackage as well as the number of packages and/or the height of thepiles. The whole device is functioning in an automatic way and goes onaccording to a previously stored operating time.

[0006] A disadvantage of this non-stop delivery rack device occurs inthe fact that the height of the temporary storage on the bars engaged inthe delivery area is only of about 35 millimeters. However, an insertionperiod is of approximatively 20 to 30 seconds. The storage height issufficient for cardboard sheets of low thickness or low basis weight andfor relatively slow processing speeds. For the uptodate fastestproduction rates, as well as for relatively thick cardboard or wasteboard sheets, this storage height becomes insufficient. If the thicknessof a new thin cardboard sheet is of about 0.3 millimeters, thisthickness increases up to 0.5 millimeters, even more, when it is drivenback to carry out the folds of the board. With a production rate of 3sheets per second, the available height of storage of 35 millimeters canbe reached in approximatively 20 seconds' time, even less. To increasethe time available for insertion, one already proposed to increase thisstorage height while lowering the level of the non-stop rack. But inthis case, the precision of the laying out of the blanks is worse,particularly in the case of low-size blanks. With a width lower than 10centimeters and with a double waste height, the blanks fall crosswiselyand the piles are badly piled up.

[0007] The aim of this invention is to increase the blanks storagecapacity on the non-stop delivery rack, while maintaining the height ofthe blanks waste at the lowest level so as to ensure a good piling up.

[0008] This aim is reached in a previously defined delivery station bythe fact that the station comprises rising means ensuring a samevertical moving of the roller and the movable carriage downwards whilethe blanks are piling up on the delivery rack.

[0009] Thanks to the rising means according to the invention, thedelivery rack laid onto the movable carriage and on the roller proceedsto a vertical moving downwards while the blanks are piling up on thisrack during the insertion operation. The time granted for the insertionperiod is so obviously increased. The height of the blanks waste becomesso adjustable, and the height of the free waste can stay at lower-level,which is particularly advantageous for low blanks.

[0010] According to a procedure of the invention, the verticaldisplacement downwards is preset owing to the work carried out by thepress, particularly according to the thickness of the board dealed with.

[0011] According to another procedure, the vertical displacementdownwards is controlled by the detection of the upper sheet of the pilelaying onto the delivery rack.

[0012] The carrying device of the movable carriage and the transverseroller can be steadily secured in a vertically movable frame. Thevertically movable frame can especially be a frame crossing the wholewidth of the station, suspended on its two sides by chains driven byonly one motor through a transmission shaft.

[0013] The rising means preferably include correction means and meansfor the maintenance of the horizontality of the upper side of the barsforming the non-stop delivery rack. These correction means can includelateral racks and guidance rollers and/or torsion bars connectingdistant parts of the vertically movable frame.

[0014] The vertical run of the non-stop delivery rack can be adjustablebetween a high position, where the waste height is preferably minimal,and a low position, this low position being determined by the length ofthe lower blanking tool joggers.

[0015] This low position can be preset: the length of the low blankingtool joggers is usually known and can thus be stored while programmingthe machine. Instead of including this parameter into the program, onecan also detect the position of the rack compared to the joggers. To doso, the vertically movable frame can carry, upstream of the transverseroller, a feeler horizontally scaning the space located immediatelybelow the free ends of the bars forming the delivery rack, so as todetect the height of the frame where the rack goes down below the lowerend of the joggers.

[0016] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appearto the one in deal with this technical field with the undermentioneddescription of a particular proceeding way, with reference to thedrawing in which:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a lateral rising view of a vertically movable transverseframe;

[0018]FIG. 2 is a top view of a device detecting the position of thedelivery rack compared to the station joggers.

[0019]FIG. 1 shows, from a lateral rising view, a crossing frame 1 withthe means involving its vertical moving. The frame comprises twolongitudinal horizontal beams 3. These two beams are settled near theside walls, operator's side (o.s.) and opposite operator's side (o.o.s.)of the frame of the press delivery station. The two longitudinalhorizontal beams 3 are connected by at least one horizontal transversebeam 12 which is connecting the ends of the longitudinal horizontalbeams 3 located near the blanking delivery area. At the other end of thelongitudinal horizontal beams 3 are settled two vertical beams 6. Thetwo pairs of beams 3 and 6 are in a “L” configuration on both sides, o.sand o.o.s. of the machine; the whole unit involving 6 beams 3, 6, 11, 12is rigid.

[0020] Each one of the two longitudinal horizontal beams 3 holds on itsvertical side pointed towards the machine axle a whole range oflongitudinal horizontal scales 4, 5 screwed by two on the beams 3. Thescales 4, 5 constitute rails carrying and guiding a movable carriage.The movable carriage itself is not represented on FIG. 1, but itsdriving system is represented in dofted lines. This driving systemcomprises a chain 13, whose two ends are attached to the movablecarriage, forming thus a closed loop. The chain 13 is tightened betweena reverse wheel 14, located near the beam 12 and a reverse pinion 15settled at the upper end of beam 6. A second chain 16 is settled on thereverse pinion 15 and is forming a closed loop, streched at the lowerend of the vertical beam 6 around a driving pinion 17, set into rotationby an motor assembled and secured at this level onto the vertical beam 6and not shown on the fig. The whole unit made up of the motor, of thedriving pinion 17, of the chain 16, of the reverse pinion 15, of thechain 13 and of the reverse wheel 14 allows the moving of the non-stopdelivery rack between a resting position where the carriage is movedback near to the vertical beams 6 and an ensuring position, where themovable carriage is near to the transverse beam 12. The two longitudinalhorizontal beams 3 are carrying each another, at their closer end fromthe cross beam 12, a roller 18 on which is laying and rolling the freeend of the bars forming the non-stop rack.

[0021] The vertical moving of the crossing frame 1 is performed by meansof a motor 19 interdependent from the delivery station frame of thepress. The rotation of the motor 19 is driving, through a chain 20 and atoothed pinion 21, the rotation of an horizontal and transversetransmission shaft 22, located in the lower part of the press frame. Thetransmission shaft 22 holds at each one of its ends a toothed pinion 23,driving a chain 24, from which one end 25 is free and the other end 26,after travelling through a reverse pinion 27, is secured to the lowerend of a vertical beam 6. The rotation of the motor 19, in one sense orin the other, is driving the vertical moving of beams 6. The beams 6 arethus hanging onto chains 26. They also stay hanging on near the sidewalls of the delivery station frame thanks to two rollers 28 and 29secured on these walls by “L” shaped fastening parts.

[0022] The use of only one motor and of similar driving parts on the twosides of the machine ensure the maintenance of the left/righthorizontality of frame 1 during its vertical moving.

[0023] The front/back horizontality of beams 3, of rails 4, 5 and,therefor of the movable carriage and the delivery rack is ensured, oneach side of frame 1, thanks to an horizontal and longitudinal bar oftorsion 8, which holds at its two ends two pinions 7, 30, identical,coaxial and interdependent of the bar of torsion. The axle of thepinions and of the bar is carried by axle supports 33, 32,interdependent of beam 3. Each one of the two pinions 7 and 30 isgearing with a respective vertical toothed rack 9, 10, interdependent ofthe press delivery station frame. A previous location setting of thetoothed racks 9, 10 allows to correct an horizontality defect of thenon-stop rack. The bar of torsion 8, which is turning around while thecrossing frame goes up or down, keeps the forth/back horizontality ofthe whole unit during this vertical moving of the frame.

[0024] To limit the vertical run of the crossing frame, the walls of thepress frame carry each one a fixed block 31, located below the bar oftorsion 8 and against which this bar 8 should come and ridge in anextremely low position. The two blocks 31 are only a security device,because under usual functioning, the crossing frame does not reach thisextremely low position. The lowest position effectively reached duringan ensuring period is determined by the length of the lower blankingtool joggers. Indeed, the top of the delivery rack should not go downbelow the height where is the lower end of the joggers because if not,during the backwards run of the bars, the piles would not be correctlylaid onto the ensuring sheet.

[0025]FIG. 2 shows a scaning device of this position. On the right sideof the fig., the location of the lower blanking tool is schematicallyrepresented.

[0026]FIG. 2 shows the vertically movable end of crossing frame 1,located near the delivery area. One can see from a top view, the end ofthe horizontal longitudinal beams 3, the transverse beam 12 and, indotted lines, the roller 18. One can also see on the top of FIG. 2 thereverse wheel 14.

[0027] The beam 12 holds on its front side to the delivery area an arm34 jointed around a vertical axle 36. The rotation is controlled by apneumatic cylinder 35 jointed at one of its ends to beam 12 and at itsother end to arm 34, near to the rotation axle 36. Thanks to this way ofdoing, the arm 34 can proceed to a rotation in an horizontal plane. Thearm 34 can or cannot execute this moving, whether it does not meet anyjogger or, at the contrary, wether the effective moving is stopped withthe meeting of the lower end of a jogger. The moving or the moving stopis scanned by a sensor, in an usual way, for example, by a contactsensor.

1. Delivery station for a converting press for paper or cardboard sheetsincluding a transversal roller (18) located downstream from the deliveryarea and a movable carriage downstream from the aforesaid roller, whichis able to receive a plurality of bars so as to form a non-stop blankingdelivery rack, the aforesaid carriage being guided by a carrying device(4, 5) into longitudinal direction, characterized in the fact that thestation comprises rising means (1, 19 to 27) able to ensure a samevertical moving of the aforesaid roller and the aforesaid movablecarriage, downwards, while blanks are piling up onto the aforesaiddelivery rack.
 2. Station according to claim 1 , characterized in thefact that rising means (1, 19 to 27) are preset according to theconverting work of the aforesaid paper or cardboard sheets.
 3. Stationaccording to claim 1 , characterized in the fact that rising means (1,19 to 27) are controlled with regard to the scan of the blanks piled uponto the aforesaid delivery rack.
 4. Station according to anyone ofclaims 1 to 3 , characterized in the fact that the aforesaid carryingdevice (4, 5) of the movable carriage and the transversal roller (18)are jointly secured in a frame (1) vertically movable.
 5. Stationaccording to claim 4 , characterized in the fact that the aforesaidframe (1) is a crossing frame, including correction means and means (7,8, 9, 10, 22, 24, 30) to keep the horizontality of the upper side of thebars forming the non-stop rack, whose vertical moving is controlled byonly one motor (19).
 6. Station according to anyone of the previousclaims, characterized in the fact that the vertical run of the deliveryrack is adjustable between a high position and a low position, theaforesaid low position being determined by the length of the joggers ofthe lower blanking tool.
 7. Station according to claim 7 , characterizedin the fact that the frame (1) holds, upstream of the transversal roller(18), a sensing device (34) horizontally scaning the space located belowthe free ends of the bars forming the delivery rack, so as to scan theheight of the frame where the delivery rack travels down below the lowerend of the joggers.